March 21, 2016

2016 User and Open Innovation Conferences

The CFPs have been issued for #OUI2016 and #WOIC2016, the premier conferences for user innovation and and open innovation (respectively). The OUI rotation brings the conference back to the U.S., while WOIC is making its first ever European appearance.

There are two policies that are newly explicit. The conference is intended for “academics and scholars who are faculty, postdoctoral fellows or students currently enrolled in PhD programs,” which would appear to exclude industry, master’s or undergraduate students. Secondly, research that is “not yet completed or in the planning stages” should be presented as a poster rather than a paper presentation.

Dietmar Harhoff, Max Planck Institute for Innovation & CompetitionJeroen de Jong, Utrecht University School of Economics

User Innovation and Psychology

Ruth Stock Homburg, Technische Universität Darmstadt

User Innovation in Healthcare

Pedro Oliveira, Católica-Lisbon School of Business & EconomicsStephen Flowers, Kent Business School, University of KentEric von Hippel, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Sharing Economy and Platforms

Christoph Hienerth, Otto Beisheim School of Management

While in recent years there hasn’t been much open innovation (as commonly defined) in OUI, this year brings a marked improvement. The grouping with crowdsourcing is a logical one given that crowdsourcing is both a highly popular theme at OUI each year and a major part of the recent open innovation literature. Lakhani and Piller are prolific, influential and (with Lakhani’s recent tenure at HBS) senior scholars who are thought leaders in these overlapping research streams.

Still, those who want an open innovation audience may find Spain a better venue this year.

World Open Innovation Conference: ESADE, Barcelona, December 15-16

After its inauguration in Napa Valley and subsequent session in Silicon Valley, the WOIC leaves California (Henry Chesbrough’s home turf) for Europe — specifically the coastal capital of Catalonia (and Spain’s second largest city). As in previous years, we hope to continue the mix of industry and academic attendees, which was highly valued by the 2015 attendees.

The conference will be combined with the annual Chesbrough-Vanhaverbeke OI Ph.D. short course, which will be held Dec. 13-14.

This will be the first year that I won’t be leading WOIC, after being co-chair (with Chesbrough, Piller and Chris Tucci) of the inaugural conference, and last year being program chair (with Chesbrough as the sole chair).

However, after managing submission process for two years — where we had more Europeans than Americans — I have long felt that the "W" in WOIC meant we need to sometimes meet in Europe. ESADE was the natural venue, given Chesbrough and Vanhaverbeke’s long ties there — and that Barcelona in December is a lot more temperate than many of the other possible venues.

I look forward to seeing friends and colleagues in Boston and Barcelona. (Because AOM was kind enough to bring its annual conference to me — I drive or take the train through Anaheim every day en route to work — I will also be there, but the chances of seeing friends among the horde of 10,000+ are slim at best).